This invention relates to a slidable room assembly, particularly to a slidable room assembly for a vehicle having a slideout room or compartment that is retracted when the vehicle is in motion and may be extended to afford more room when the vehicle is parked. More particularly, this invention relates to a slidable room assembly that includes an improved mechanism for reciprocation of the slideout unit relative to the vehicle.
Recreation vehicles including motor homes, fifth wheel trailers and travel trailers may be provided with an extendable slideout unit for increasing the vehicle""s living space. This slideout unit may be extended for use when the vehicle is parked and is retracted in a telescoping manner when the vehicle is to be moved.
Prior vehicle slideout installations that include an extension/retraction system that relies on screws or a pinion for effecting telescoping movement of the slideout unit relative to the vehicle are known. Screws, in particular, must be short for practical reasons, including the tendency of a longer screw to deflect so that the axis of the screw is not absolutely straight. This, of course, greatly impairs operability of the screw. Pinions must also be comparatively short for practical reasons, including excessive weight in a pinion of greater length. Since the amplitude of movement of the slideout room or compartment can be no greater than the length of the screw or pinion, the amplitude of sliding movement, and hence the amount of additional space gained by the slideout compartment, is limited.
Other types of slideout installations for vehicles are also known. One such installation employs an endless cable that passes over one pair of pulleys supported by a main part of a mobile home and a second pair of pulleys mounted on side walls of an extension part of the mobile home to cause the extension part to reciprocate. Another slideout installation shows an expanding caravan, which also includes a rotatable shaft and two types of cables wound therearound. Rotation of the shaft in one direction causes one type of cable to wind as the other type unwinds, causing a sliding unit a second module to reciprocate in one direction (say outwardly) relative to first module. Rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction causes the second module to move in the opposite direction (say inwardly relative to the first module).
Presently known room slideout units have various problems.
A major problem is that a slideout room is cantilevered as it is extended. The outer end of the extended slideout room tends to tip downwardly. This puts weight on the slideout unit""s operating mechanism. The cantilevered slideout room also tends to be loose at the top and tight at the bottom. This puts weight on the slideout mechanism, which in turn impairs slideability and also invites leakage.
Another problem with presently known slideout units is that they require modification of the vehicle""s underframe, unless the slideout unit is of small size. For example, it may be necessary to cut away a portion of the underframe in order to accommodate the operating mechanism of the slideout unit. This impairs the ability of the underframe to support the vehicle by lessening the strength and rigidity of the underframe.
It is an object of this invention to provide a vehicle slideout assembly that does not rely on either screws or pinions to achieve relative movement between a slideout unit and a vehicle on which the slideout unit is mounted.
A further object of this invention is to provide a vehicle slideout assembly that includes a drive mechanism that may be mounted on either a slideout unit or a vehicle body and that directly grips the other in order to accomplish relative movement between the two.
According to this invention, a vehicle is provided With one or more horizontally reciprocable slideout units. Slideout units according to this invention can include one or more room slideout units and/or one or more storage slideout units (or compartments). A vehicle may have either type, or both types, of slideout units, and may have one or more slideout units of each type.
The vehicle (motor homes, fifth wheel trailers or travel trailers) comprises a vehicle body having a plurality of exterior walls, at least one of which has an opening therein. Each slideout unit is disposed in the vehicle body opening and is slidable between an extended position and a retracted position. The vehicle body and a slideout unit form respective first and second relatively reciprocable modules. The drive mechanism is supported by one of the modules and comprises at least one flexible drive member and a plurality of attachment members or anchors for securing the drive member (or members) to the other module. The drive mechanism further comprises a series of freely rotating guide members and means for alternately pulling the drive member(s) in opposite directions across the guide members to reciprocate the slideout unit. Either one or more drive members are provided. The cable drive member(s) may be pulled either by a power unit (e.g., a motor), or manually.
The drive member should remain taut and is therefore made of high modulus material. In one embodiment, an endless cable can be the drive member. The guide members guide the drive member(s) in a predetermined path. Ordinarily, the guide members rotate about fixed axes. Sheaves are preferred guide members.
Pulling of the cable drive member(s) in one direction reciprocates the slideout unit in one direction, e.g., toward the extended position. Pulling of the cable drive member(s) in the opposite direction reciprocates the slideout unit in the opposite direction, e.g., toward the retracted position.
In another embodiment of this invention, a slideout assembly of the type having a body with a plurality of exterior walls, at least one of which has an opening and a slideout unit disposed in the opening and reciprocable between an extended position and a retracted position, wherein the improvement comprises: a rotatable sprocket; two sets of flexible drive members drivingly engaging the rotatable sprocket; two sets of guide members to guide the flexible drive members through a predetermined path, the body opening having two sides, a top and a bottom, a set of guide members being positioned proximate each side of the body opening; and a plurality of anchors for fixedly securing the flexible drive members to the slideout unit is provided.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a slideout assembly of the type having a body with a plurality of exterior walls, at least one of which has an opening and a slideout unit disposed in the opening and reciprocable between an extended position and a retracted position, wherein the improvement comprises: a rotatable sprocket; a pair of flexible drive members non-slippingly engaging the sprocket, each flexible drive member comprising a double Y-shaped member having four ends; two sets of rotatable guides guiding the pair of flexible drive members; two sets of anchors connecting the ends of the flexible drive member proximate a corner of the slideout unit, whereby an end of the flexible drive members has been connected proximate each corner of the slideout unit is provided.